The German Hockey Federation (DHB) has submitted an application to the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for Hamburg to host the Women’s World Cup in 2022.
The event would be held in the Heiligengeistfeld area of the city and would take place during the summer. A mobile stadium that would seat 10,000 fans is being planned as part of the proposal.
The 16-team tournament is held every four years and was most recently staged in London last year, when Netherlands claimed its eighth title.
DHB president Carola Meyer said: “The concept is terrific. A World Cup at a location so central in the middle of a metropolis has not existed yet. Our association is extremely proud that Hamburg has developed the vision for such a mega event with us and wants to implement it. It corresponds exactly to the FIH’s 10-year strategy, to develop its events according to the criteria of big, bold, packed and loud sports spectacles.”
The FIH is set to announce the host of the tournament in November during its Executive Board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. Last month, the governing body reopened the bidding process for its men’s and women’s World Cups after more national associations expressed an interest in hosting.
Interested countries had initially been required to submit their interest by January 31 but this window was extended until the end of September. The FIH confirmed last month that it had received a bid from Germany to host either the men’s or women’s World Cup during the preferred time window of July 1-17, 2022.
Malaysia and Spain also expressed an interest in hosting the men’s event during this period. For the preferred time period of January 13-29, 2023, India submitted a bid for the men’s or women’s event, while New Zealand is bidding for the women’s tournament.
Germany has not held the Women’s World Cup since 1976, when West Berlin played host. The city of Mönchengladbach hosted the men’s event in 2006, when the the host nation defeated Australia 4-3 in the final.
